I have a job waiting for me at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory should I decide to go that route after I retire. They do a lot "sensitive" work for the gov't.

I don't care about the Hop playing LAX in the B1G, adding UNC and UVA is what I have a problem with. I loved adding Nebraska. I understood adding Rutgers and Maryland. I cannot get behind UVA or UNC.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

furls wrote:I have a job waiting for me at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory should I decide to go that route after I retire. They do a lot "sensitive" work for the gov't.

I don't care about the Hop playing LAX in the B1G, adding UNC and UVA is what I have a problem with. I loved adding Nebraska. I understood adding Rutgers and Maryland. I cannot get behind UVA or UNC.

Why is that Furls? Serious question. I don't see them being any worse than Maryland and Rutgers. Smaller markets but you're still adding to your footprint in new markets in the mid-atlantic, you're following the population shift and you're building a bridge to the Atlanta market which will be their next target.

If any of these expansion moves were about football I'd undertand the disappointmet. But they're not.

furls wrote:I have a job waiting for me at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory should I decide to go that route after I retire. They do a lot "sensitive" work for the gov't.

I don't care about the Hop playing LAX in the B1G, adding UNC and UVA is what I have a problem with. I loved adding Nebraska. I understood adding Rutgers and Maryland. I cannot get behind UVA or UNC.

Why is that Furls? Serious question. I don't see them being any worse than Maryland and Rutgers. Smaller markets but you're still adding to your footprint in new markets in the mid-atlantic, you're following the population shift and you're building a bridge to the Atlanta market which will be their next target.

If any of these expansion moves were about football I'd undertand the disappointmet. But they're not.

You know, given that the Big Whatever is sinking into footall irrelevance I think that's the issue. But we're not Delaney.

furls wrote:I have a job waiting for me at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory should I decide to go that route after I retire. They do a lot "sensitive" work for the gov't.

I don't care about the Hop playing LAX in the B1G, adding UNC and UVA is what I have a problem with. I loved adding Nebraska. I understood adding Rutgers and Maryland. I cannot get behind UVA or UNC.

Why is that Furls? Serious question. I don't see them being any worse than Maryland and Rutgers. Smaller markets but you're still adding to your footprint in new markets in the mid-atlantic, you're following the population shift and you're building a bridge to the Atlanta market which will be their next target.

If any of these expansion moves were about football I'd undertand the disappointmet. But they're not.

You know, given that the Big Whatever is sinking into footall irrelevance I think that's the issue. But we're not Delaney.

Personally, with all the yearly conference manueverings, I think the conference system itself is slipping toward irrelevance.

furls wrote:I have a job waiting for me at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory should I decide to go that route after I retire. They do a lot "sensitive" work for the gov't.

I don't care about the Hop playing LAX in the B1G, adding UNC and UVA is what I have a problem with. I loved adding Nebraska. I understood adding Rutgers and Maryland. I cannot get behind UVA or UNC.

Why is that Furls? Serious question. I don't see them being any worse than Maryland and Rutgers. Smaller markets but you're still adding to your footprint in new markets in the mid-atlantic, you're following the population shift and you're building a bridge to the Atlanta market which will be their next target.

If any of these expansion moves were about football I'd undertand the disappointmet. But they're not.

You know, given that the Big Whatever is sinking into footall irrelevance I think that's the issue. But we're not Delaney.

Personally, with all the yearly conference manueverings, I think the conference system itself is slipping toward irrelevance.

peeker643 wrote:Personally, with all the yearly conference manueverings, I think the conference system itself is slipping toward irrelevance.

Irrelevant maybe, but I don't see how it could go away. There can't/won't be just one big lump of teams in a free for all. There has to be some compartmentalization and organization, and the conferences do that already. I don't see why they'd disband conferences just to immediately split teams into the Northeast, Northwest, Midwest, Southwest, Pacific, etc...

furls wrote:Great, we get some more good academic, football bottom feeders. Just what the conference needed. Maybe we can get MIT to field a team for next year's expansion.

Isn't that just for LAX, a sport no one but some rich east coast preppy mysoginists who can't make the cut at football so they do that instead since the talent pool is so diluted care about?

LAX -> Once you know you can't hit a baseball on the big field against California pitchers, make the switch. Plus it's fun I would imagine. Actually one of our HS players out there had a horrific neck injury, and clung to life for a couple of months with help. Finally I think he is able to get out with a Halo now ala the Buckeye sharpshooter from 20+ years ago.

Denver is a huge LAX school. And this was BEFORE the latest Mary Jane laws.

I don't know why they don't just add UNC and Duke to make it 16. I was strongly against the Rutgers and Maryland additions but if you're going that route, the cable clout that the UNC and Duke basketball teams give you (and make no mistake, basketball is the lifeblood of the BTN) is considerable. Duke doesn't embarrass themselves anymore at football either.

"Well then I guess there's only one thing left to do...win the whole, f***in', thing."- Jake Taylor

CFB is sliding down an unsustainable path. What makes money and what the fans want are two completely different things, due largely to the fact that a great deal of the money for the big programs comes from rich alumni, and the rich alumni generally want access and mindless wins, not necessarily good sports play.

For the alumni, CFB is about the social occasion of sitting in the box with the school president and meeting the star QB. It's about one uping their social rivals. And those people are driving the bus because they pay the money, at least the money that differs from school to school.

Meanwhile, TV revenues have turned out to be insane, and the conferences are trying desperately to get as large an installation base of subscribers as they can.

There is no end game. The only end game involves the cooperation of the major conferences, and, right now at least, that cannot happen, both because of the competition and because of antitrust laws.

So the B1G will expand until OSU starts to lose money by having to share TV revenue evenly. Once we reach that point, expansion will stop. None of the expansion bothers the rich alumni much because they still get access and OSU still plays Michigan. You think they care about whether we play Wisconsin or Rutgers?

Expansion will end when the TV revenues go down. Which they won't for a long time. More than a decade, I'd say, even if we add two teams every 3 years. Adding mediocre teams just doesn't change anything to the casual fan, so it won't hurt the TV revenue.

Now, I do think that 15-20 years from now the big schools will separate out and start a 40-60 member big boy league, but that won't happen until the TV revenue ruins the conference system beyond all recognition, which as I've laid out, is coming. But it's going to easily be more than a decade of this shuffling before the top schools get tired of it.

furls wrote:I have a job waiting for me at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory should I decide to go that route after I retire. They do a lot "sensitive" work for the gov't.

I don't care about the Hop playing LAX in the B1G, adding UNC and UVA is what I have a problem with. I loved adding Nebraska. I understood adding Rutgers and Maryland. I cannot get behind UVA or UNC.

Why is that Furls? Serious question. I don't see them being any worse than Maryland and Rutgers. Smaller markets but you're still adding to your footprint in new markets in the mid-atlantic, you're following the population shift and you're building a bridge to the Atlanta market which will be their next target.

If any of these expansion moves were about football I'd undertand the disappointmet. But they're not.

You know, given that the Big Whatever is sinking into footall irrelevance I think that's the issue. But we're not Delaney.

I wish we'd add some good football teams too, but which ones are outthere to be had? And like I said, that's not what this is about anyway. The only hope is that the realignments strengthens the Big 10 enough financially that these shitty teams get their act together. Doubtful, but more likely than adding a bunch of teams like Florida, Texas and Notre Dame.

motherscratcher wrote:What is the endgame for the B1G anyway? Are they looking for 20 teams ultimately?

Exactly. 20 Teams. two 10 Team Divisions.

I think the four 20-team superconfernce idea is close to becoming a reality.

You'll have four 5-team pods in each conference, two divisions of two pods each. Division X will consist of Pod A and Pod B. Division Y will consist of Pod C and Pod D.

You play every team in your pod (4 games) and every team from the pod in your divison (5 games) for 9 total conference games. Every team in your division plays the exact same schedule. Best record from each division meet in the championship game.

Then, every two years you rotate divisions. So Division X would now consist of Pod A and Pod C and Division Y of Pod B and Pod D. This ensures that you play every member of the 20 team conference that's not in your pod in 2 out of every 6 years and it keeps the balance of power equal within the divisions.

This also protects rivalries by keeping 5 teams together in the same pod. A 20 team Big 10 could basically split the current membership into midwest/west pods, and then have northeast/souteast pods for the former ACC that they're about to add.

Lots of rumors around that the ACC has agreed to a grant-of-rights agreement through 2027. If that's the case, it looks like the kibosh may be in on the latest round of expansion, with the SEC, B1G, and ACC all at 14 (15 with ND), the Pac-12 at 12 and Big XII at 10.

UConn and Cincy would be the only teams of relevance still out there with any semblance of freedom, unless they get put into the Big XII (which would be highly unlikely in my opinion).

I think the Big XII will take anybody who is willing to submit to Texas/Oklahoma pushing around the gravy train and taking the biggest helpings of revenue, yet willing to side with the other 8 schools that cling on lifesupport. The other BigXII schools realizing if UT/OU leave(taking OkState and maybe TxT), nobody gives a shit about the motley crue that is left under that name. And indiviually they are as appealing as a Missouri Valley basketball school.

If the BigXII broke up you would see Iowa St try to small down to get in that aforementioned MVC.

Plain and simple, Big XII is only looking for small fish to bring them up to 12 schools, any smaller Mtn West/Big West type school. They would be thrilled if a UConn or Cincy wanted to flirt with them. They are no threat to B1G expansion whatsoever.

I agree with Neoleo on building the footbridge to ATL. We already have Chicago. Made our way to D.C, and NYC. I think adding Syracuse in the future would be a great add to reinforce the B1G footprint in the Northeast since most of the student body (thus future rich-alumni)come from NY/New England region.

"Cocaine is a hell of a drug" - Originated from a famous skit in Dave Chappelle's "Chappelle's Show". The skit would portray Rick James, usually high on cocaine, preforming doing crazy and stupid things, such as smacking Charlie Murphy in the face. Rick James would frequently explain away his actions by saying "Cocaine is a hell of a drug".

I am so glad it is over. I know lots of guys get boners over how big the BTN review will be, and that is nice, but I would prefer we grow that pot while not further dilluting the B1G with more mediocrity. I know the CIC and AAU are nice, but outside of university presidents who the fuck cares?

I am glad UNC and UVA will not be in the B1G. Matter of fact, I am glad GaTech isn't going to be either. The only school I am remotely interested in from that conference is FSU.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

A few weeks ago, I announced plans to seek a conference affiliation for the university's men's lacrosse team, a decision that was based on a recommendation from a special committee charged with examining all aspects of this issue. Today, I am very pleased to announce that I have accepted an offer from the presidents and chancellors of the Big Ten to have Johns Hopkins join the conference as a sport affiliate member for men's lacrosse.

This is an important moment for both Johns Hopkins and Big Ten men's lacrosse. For the first time, the Big Ten has welcomed a university into its ranks to participate in a single sport. For the first time, there will be formal Big Ten competition in men's lacrosse. And for the first time, after more than 130 years of independent participation at the highest levels of the sport, the regular season schedule for our Blue Jays will include league games.

You will recall that I convened a special committee of alumni, former Blue Jay lacrosse players and other Johns Hopkins leaders and stakeholders to consider the question of conference affiliation. That committee wrote a report recommending that we pursue affiliate membership in a conference, citing in particular the rapid growth of lacrosse and the dramatically changing landscape of NCAA Division I athletics as reasons to reconsider independence.

For example, changes in the conference affiliations of traditional rivals threaten our ability to keep them on the Blue Jay schedule in years to come. In addition, with so many leagues now eligible for an automatic qualifying spot in the NCAA Division I Championship, it seemed imprudent to become the only school denying our student-athletes, alumni and fans two qualification routes into the post-season. You can find the report, which I ultimately accepted, here.

The special committee looked into several possible conference affiliations in the course of its deliberations. In the end, Athletics Director Tom Calder and Coach Dave Pietramala recommended that Johns Hopkins join the Big Ten for several reasons, including:

We are a good fit with the Big Ten institutions, research universities with whom — in most cases — we already share close connections through the Association of American Universities;The commitment of the Big Ten and its members to the academic success of student-athletes;The opportunity for Johns Hopkins to help to launch Big Ten lacrosse play, including the adoption of competition rules and procedures;The opportunity for Johns Hopkins to contribute to the creation of the league's lacrosse culture, bringing to bear the experience of our 44 national championships and the traditions and history of the nation's most successful lacrosse program;The chance to continue a historic series with arch-rival Maryland, which is also joining the Big Ten;The conference's understanding and encouragement of our desire to maintain as many of our other traditional rivalries as possible;The conference's understanding and encouragement of our desire to maintain our agreement with ESPNU for national telecasts of all games from Homewood Field; andThe strength, stability and resources of the Big Ten, which bode well for the success of its venture into a new sport.It also means a great deal that the Big Ten is so enthusiastic about welcoming Johns Hopkins into its ranks. Commissioner Jim Delany and other Big Ten officials and coaches have made it clear that they consider Johns Hopkins central to the league's strategic decision to expand into lacrosse competition.

We will begin league play with the rest of the conference in the 2015 season. We have agreed to an initial membership term of five years and to re-examining the relationship after three years to determine if it should be extended. Our NCAA Division I women's lacrosse program will continue play as part of the American Lacrosse Conference next year before moving to independent status in 2015. And, as always, we remain proudly and deeply committed to NCAA Division III status in all other varsity intercollegiate athletics.

I want to thank the Big Ten presidents and chancellors and Commissioner Delany for inviting us to join them. We are excited about our future with Maryland, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers, and about our association with the conference and all its members.

That's cool. I enjoy LAX, so adding Hopkins is pretty much like getting 'Bama to join for Football.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.

Against my recommendations and in spite of my negative vote, the B1G added John's Hopkins as an affiliate member in an activity called Men's Lacrosse. In my view, this sport is for lesser athletes, the brothers and sisters of the poor, heathen Catholics and illiterate honky rednecks from the east coast and southern states.

I in no way endorse this action by our league but for those of you who find my position and statement offensive please accept my full retraction.

Coming from a Wolverine, we're the football equivalent of a formerly abused wife of a meth addict who just remarried the safe nice guy. We're just glad we have someone who's aware that it's a rivalry and that tackling on defense is integral. Baby steps.